A Petri Nets-Based Scheduling Methodology for Multipurpose Batch Plants

This article presents an optimization methodology of batch production processes assembled by shared resources that rely on a mapping of state events into time events, allowing in this way the straightforward use of well-consolidated scheduling policies developed for manufacturing systems. A technique to generate the timed Petri net representation from a continuous dynamic representation (DAE systems) of the production system is presented together with the main characteristics of a Petri nets-based tool implemented for optimization purposes. This article describes also how the implemented tool generates the coverability tree and how it can be pruned by a general-purpose heuristic. An example of a distillation process with two shared batch resources is used to illustrate the proposed optimization methodology. © 2005, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.